October 28, 2011

This essay rambles along, excusing OWS for its vague message on the theory that cable TV newsfolk just don't understand:

Occupy Wall Street is... a movement that has wisely shunned the one-note, pre-chewed, simple-minded messaging required for cable television as it now exists....

The mainstream media... has no idea whatsoever of how to report on a story that isn’t about easy fixes so much as it is about anguished human frustration and fear....

While the mainstream media expresses puzzlement and fear at these incomprehensible “protesters” with their oddly well-worded “signs,” the rest of us see our own concerns reflected back at us and understand perfectly....

Okay. The media doesn't get it. Check. Now, look at the final paragraph.

By refusing to take a ragtag, complicated, and leaderless movement seriously, the mainstream media has succeeded only in ensuring its own irrelevance. The rest of America has little trouble understanding that these are ragtag, complicated, and leaderless times. This may not make for great television, but any movement that acknowledges that fact deserves enormous credit.

The protests are a response to Obama's failure to live up to the promises he made to the people who voted for him. That's why you don't see pro-Obama signs there. I've only ever seen pro-Ron Paul ones. (People still believe in him.)

There are specific issues to protest (like with Civil Rights or Vietnam) and then there are tantrums.

Using a veneer of postmodernity to excuse acting up out of vague fears and frustrations is pretty sad. Because the fact is that while there are definitely issues and problems and broken lives and specific complaints, responding by "protesting" is just about the least effective act possible. It's basically wallowing in the angst while helping absolutely no one.

Instead of their vague messages and camping out, they would be much better to go and volunteer with specific organizations that are engaged with helping actual people, or running for a local political office, or doing all sorts of other much more specific tasks.

The wallowing in angst only fuels more angst.

And the fact is that each person there is actually comparatively very wealthy and probably much more in the oppressor class than they'd ever want to admit. They have lives filled with all kinds of choices, choices so many in this world don't have. They have options and power and influence, even if they are in debt and have useless degrees. They show by their being there that they can just about do anything. And they waste this power of choice by wallowing in self-pity.

It's sad. But they can, and should be, the change they believe in. They should start businesses, reform economic approaches, and otherwise engage in acts of real change for real people, not waiting for others to give them attention for their present tantrums.

I think this is what you get when you focus on building children's self-esteem rather than teaching them useful life skills. People that are more pets than independent human beings.

Spectators think the protesters aren't saying anything coherent and therefore have no solutions to offer. But that's not true. The incoherent hodgepodge of ideas is their solution.

By and large, these people don't know how to take care of themselves. They don't know how to do anything someone else would willingly pay them money for. And their brains think what they are saying is a solution. They have no idea that what comes out of their mouths is incoherent.

A few of them notice, but only after they hear a reporter mention it on TV. And those few are parroting what was said more than understanding it.

Obama has only been a prop leader in a facade White House keeping us occupied with WWF wrestling matches with Congress while the dollar, the US Military Budget, and the US energy extraction business all wither away...but don't look at that...look over here at Wall Street fat cats who are keeping their money with Crony Obama's generous favoritism.

City officials temporarily denied Occupy Madison a new street use permit Wednesday after protesters violated public health and safety conditions and failed to follow the correct processes to renew or amend a permit.

The permit, which expired Wednesday at noon, required Occupy Madison protesters to relocate from their current space at 30 West Mifflin Street, also called 30 on the Square.

A neighboring hotel's staff alleged voiced concerns about having to recently escort hotel employees to and from bus stops late at night due to inappropriate behavior, such as public masturbation, from street protesters.

They are representative of the modern left. Angry, ignorant, and rude.

At the Oval Room Happy Hour, we were not pleased with Dahlia. She is so messed up. We have decided that she would not be considered as a our A reporters in the media. We give important access to A people, so that they return favor by totally and completely supporting our Committee to Re-Elect the POTUS. This is not acceptable. We do not need this distraction. We simply want to focus on GOP nomination of Perry. This scenario will help us win everywhere in 2012. This will help all Senate/House members on the ballot. Thus, 2012 is a year of victory. Dahlia is a bad smell, luckily we do not care for her or her publication anymore. Forget you.

Lithwick just doesn't get the leading from behind thing. What a dufus.

Insty has links about physical fighting among ows types in NY and some one draining the Portland ows's Pay Pal account.

In some fairness, a group can't camp out in squalor, cold, etc and not expect some conflict. That they continue to attempt this futile form of protest points out their lack of understanding of themselves and human nature in general.

Instead of their vague messages and camping out, they would be much better to go and volunteer with specific organizations that are engaged with helping actual people, or running for a local political office, or doing all sorts of other much more specific tasks.

The problem is that "anguished human frustration and fear" does not excuse the Stupid.

Tantrums are generally about "anguished human frustration and fear". But the simple expression of those things has no substance.

So the rest of us demand that the expression of "anguished human frustration and fear" be accompanied by proposed solutions.

It hasn't yet.

So far we have demands, but no solutions. Or as Love pointed out a few days ago (not to fuss on Love, but it was illustrative) it's all too complicated for normal people to understand or figure out how to fix, so normal people should just vote in general directions and someone else (presumably the super smart government people) have the responsibility of making it all actually work.

The Tea Party capitalist sorts say, "this is how the economy works and that's why what we propose will work."

The Libertarian capitalist sorts say, "this is how the economy works and that's why what we propose will work."

The OWS protesters say, "Math is hard, but there is no reason I can't have my share!"

It's not any of OUR faults that the Movement when they sit down in one of their democratic committees and hash out the demands that express their "anguished human frustration and fear" come up with the Stupid.

The one thing that I think might be a central unifying premise to the whole OWS thing is that government is utterly powerless and thus Obama is excused.

I get emails from a local Dem who seems to be trying to shed his moderate image in favor of pretending there is a great struggle of the little guy against Big Money. Republicans are responsible for the corporate and bank bail-outs, no matter that Dems had firm majorities, and only his election will stop the dangerous Tea Party and all the damage they are doing in Washington... voting against bail outs, because that's what they did when they got there, right? The Right and particularly the Tea Party has been anti-bail-out from the first day that fellow ranted at the Stock Exchange, and they've been consistent with that ever since.

It's amazing how suddenly congress must be saved from the extremist Republicans that want to bail out big business.

The protesters might be that dumb, but I don't think the long time mayor of Albq and now candidate for Congress is that stupid. I just think he's a lying sack of sh*t.

In some fairness, a group can't camp out in squalor, cold, etc and not expect some conflict. That they continue to attempt this futile form of protest points out their lack of understanding of themselves and human nature in general.

I thought that's how they want all of us to live to be fair. In squalor, miserable. But they'll whine.

Was there any doubt? Or for that matter, any doubt Meade would have steadfastly recorded every second of the jackoff session, [had it really occured], within inches of the subject, had he had the chance? I bet Meade has more hours of unpaid film footage than anyone in America.

Was there any doubt? Or for that matter, any doubt Meade would have steadfastly recorded every second of the jackoff session, [had it really occured], within inches of the subject, had he had the chance?

I understand leading from behind to mean that one leads group dynamics invisibly to build consensus in such a way that one's leadership is hardly noticed and where one does not step forward to claim recognition or responsibility.

But now I am seeing the phrase used with a different meaning: being behind events but claiming foresight.

One of the problems here is that the protests are somewhat a product of the MSM. They are supposed to be the left's answer to the Tea Party movement. Note the timing - about a year before the election. They were hoping for the same sort of movement that the right has in order to retake the House and save the White House for another Obama term.

So, the original protests were built up. All of the negative stuff was covered up by the press. Heck, today, David Duke jumped in to support them, along with the Communists, Nazis, etc. All of the premade socialist, communist, union, etc. signs were ignored. The numbers were exaggerated, by the same media outlets that downplayed the Tea Party numbers. And the most vehement spokespeople were the ones making the rounds of cable and network shows.

One reason that the movement doesn't seem to have a unified message is that it isn't a unified movement. You have the unions, the communists, the Nazis, etc. all with their own signs and messages. And, then you have the ignorant slacker generation who know things are bad, but don't want to look to Washington, D.C. and esp. the White House as the problem, since they were instrumental in putting Obama there.

Indeed, the one place where they should be protesting, Washington, D.C., they really aren't. I drove by their park in that city last Sunday, and all I saw were a couple dozen nice looking tents, and not that many people sitting around. Not much energy whatsoever.

In the end, I think that the movement will fizzle out. They are now showing resolve to sit out the coming snow in NYC in their tents. We shall see. The winter can be quite long, and spending it in a tent near Wall Street is not going to be fun. And, so, I expect that by the end of the year, much of the movement will have fizzle out.

More evidence of the liberal mind and the absence of the 'sane' and 'reasonable' filters.

I can only imagine the media coverage of a Tea Party event that had triggered this type of result. Janeane freaking Garafalo would be on every left wing cable outlet spewing her hate rhetoric calling every grandmother and child a racist.

Have to agree, these OWS protests seem to point to a dissatisfaction with the lack of goodies from Zero. Pathetic indeed. OWS wants more government/cronyism, while the Tea party wants less. Period.

These are leaderless times! Absolutely. That is exactly the message of OWS. The two main prongs of OWS (attacking Wall Street and attacking government) are based on the fact that Congress and all presidential candidates are bought and paid for by Wall Street. OWS wants the People to find a way to bring democracy back to the electoral and the economic process. Hence the slogan: We are the 99%. If you go to OWS or any occupy camp that is on point, you will most definitely notice the absence of anyone talking or writing about current political candidates or political parties. They are trying to change the system and our current mindset of dividing people into Democrats and Republicans and having them attack and destroy each other. Who benefits when the 99% fight over the scraps tossed down to us by the 1%? The 1% is laughing all the way to the bank. The 1% control everything, including Obama and the Supreme Court. They will write a law tomorrow taking away your fancy house and your pension if they feel like it and you will be powerless to stop it. If we are not going to support the constitution and the people's right to free speech and peaceably assemble then all is lost. We gave up freedom of the press, separation of powers, checks and balances, etc. a long time ago.

The last I heard, he was in Hollywood collecting millions of dollars in campaign contributions, then it was off to the Jay Leno show for some giggles.

What's the problem?

No problem. But it's nice to see that the conservatives make up for their lack of any class and resentment of Hollywood by making their debates into the political equivalent of beauty pageants, game shows and reality TV shows.

As Obama said, he'll wait to pay attention once the last one's been "voted off the island".

I totally cracked up watching the Republican ego-stroking that occurred with Wolf Blitzer's use of Vince McMahon's announcement style when presenting the names of the silly lil' Repubs.

OWS needs a leader because their demands are to collectively take stuff from others and give it to us. The TEA Party does not need a leader because their message is to leave us individuals alone. You dont really need a leader to get that message across.

Boy howdy. Back when the TP was in full on rage mode everybody here bitched and whined about how CNN, NYT and the rest always gravitated to the kooks, freaks, the gun carriers. Mass movements are always attracting those sorts. And being in large cities the lumpen is gonna smell an opportunity. (And just smell in some cases too.) Judging a mass movement by the random acts of a few fringe types would be like judging the TPers by the nuts and kooks who were attracted to its energy and momentum and missing the bigger picture of spontaneous resistance movements arising. Forest vs. trees eh?

Well, Ritmo, it seems that obama likes to hang out with the 1%, doesn't it?

To a mind that only comprehends "with us or against us" that can be a problem.

But to liberals and independents it's not.

Most of the "1%" wants to avoid political trouble, and many, many among them are likely to identify as liberals or to at least be sympathetic to the economic immobility that conservatives have created.

It's those chuckleheads at "the bottom of the bracket" who endorse Republican ideas, and bribe their whore-pols accordingly.

They'd like to be at the top, but they aren't. The tippy-top know that if you don't have a social conscience, your legacy will be shit. Well, most of them do, anyway. The Brothers Cock and a few other bad eggs are different. And necessarily shadier, as well.

Most people with that kind of power don't mind better exposure, because they realize that morality no longer becomes a luxury or a choice once they run out of rungs on the economic ladder.

But you are just a mindless peon, so why am I even bothering to explain this to you? Just vote Republican and don't worry your little head with the complex realities of life, ok Allen?

The Teabags are just schizophrenic about the fact that they cooperated with the Great Scheme to outsource our middle class to China. It causes them apoplexy to reconcile their blind nationalism with economic greed.

I don't mind or care if China builds up its own middle class, I just don't think it's illegitimate to ask that it do so on its own dime, with its own ideas, and with the necessary freedoms and protections to its citizens that allow economic power to grow in the first place.

If all that were to happen, they wouldn't have been in a position to threaten us anyway, as their politics wouldn't have allowed for it.

And if they hadn't, they'd be just another USSR - doomed to collapse under the weight of their own internal inconsistencies.

But Republicans keep holding on to the idea that Reagan was somehow necessary for allowing a doomed enterprise to collapse, so we must therefore engage another brutal dictatorial regime to prevent them from being a threat to us.

It's clearly an incredibly presumptuous idea that requires much more thinking through.

Ritmo belched: "But it's nice to see that the conservatives make up for their lack of any class and resentment of Hollywood by making their debates into the political equivalent of beauty pageants, game shows and reality TV shows."

Yeah, because class is wanking in public, gang rapes, and shitting on police cars.

And last I checked, Republicans weren't the ones setting u pthe debates. But you'd actually have to have a clue to know that wouldn't you?

KenK tried: "Judging a mass movement by the random acts of a few fringe types would be like judging the TPers by the nuts and kooks who were attracted to its energy and momentum and missing the bigger picture of spontaneous resistance movements arising. Forest vs. trees eh?"

Yeah you're right, the wealth of examples of filth, crime, sexual assault, indecent exposure, calls for violent revolution, and outright militias showing up at every major OWS Public Health Risk is totally comparable to the few instances at TP rallies, minus the Black Plague reunion tour at Zucotti Park of course.

Ritmo furiously typed: "The Teabags are just schizophrenic about the fact that they cooperated with the Great Scheme to outsource our middle class to China. It causes them apoplexy to reconcile their blind nationalism with economic greed."

Lol. Republicans were dragged into having debates. Shame on you, CNN, Google and FOX! Shame! Trying to MAKE and FORCE the helpless and incompetent Republican candidates into an actual debate!!! Everyone knows the poor little dears aren't capable of something so demanding and taxing as explaining their ideas and defending them in front of their colleagues! For shame!

Where will this coercive show of government power ever end? Oh, where...?

Representative government in a democratic republic is a necessarily collectivist enterprise, dummy. So deal with it. We don't get to carve out parts of a federal republic and deny it accountability to the entire system of government as a whole.

And you're the one who thinks only the rich should get a voice.

How hard would it be for you to stop being stupid for ten seconds. Everyone knows your predictable talking points. Come up with your own ideas, clone warrior.

Do you have to ask Mr Koch for permission to think for yourself, first?

Yeah Ritmo, you keep thinking CNN, Google, and even FOX are bastions of conservative outlets.

Denial: serving liberal progressives since 1933

Denial that FOX is a conservative outlet? The war against reality continues unabated.

I assume that the Republican party is a conservative outlet that gets to choose with whom it does business, but GMaynot fervently comes up with so many knee-jerk reactions that he doesn't even realize how stupid it would be to disagree.

New York:That is exactly the message of OWS. The two main prongs of OWS (attacking Wall Street and attacking government) are based on the fact that Congress and all presidential candidates are bought and paid for by Wall Street.

Attacking government? I thought that's what they weren't doing. After all, you mention, "the absence of anyone talking or writing about current political candidates or political parties." Like it or not, those candidates and parties represent the levers of power right now, and any change will have to be effected by them or their replacements. As you also say, "They will write a law tomorrow taking away your fancy house and your pension if they feel like it and you will be powerless to stop it." Damn straight. It's not the investment banker swine doing that, it's the government.

They are trying to change the system and our current mindset of dividing people into Democrats and Republicans and having them attack and destroy each other.

Ritmo twisted: "Representative government in a democratic republic is a necessarily collectivist enterprise, dummy. So deal with it. We don't get to carve out parts of a federal republic and deny it accountability to the entire system of government as a whole."

Ah, the hive mind has done it's work well with you. You're apparently blissfully unaware of these things called States and our Bill of Rights, which are quite antithetical to your overwhelming Borg philosophies.

"And you're the one who thinks only the rich should get a voice."

Another strawman slain by brave Sir Ritmo!

"How hard would it be for you to stop being stupid for ten seconds. Everyone knows your predictable talking points. Come up with your own ideas, clone warrior."

Is there medication for a classic case of projection? I only ask because I know that has got to be hard to stop on your own.

"Do you have to ask Mr Koch for permission to think for yourself, first?"

Not anymore, because that motherfucker still hasn't sent me that phat phat paycheck he promised me.

GMaynot used the following verbs in constructing his Mad Libs-inspired responses:

"Whiffed... twisted... typed... tried... belched."

And he still didn't come up with anything relevant or thought provoking.

AND, OWS is still winning, as was the, you know "Union" back when GMaynot's intellectual forebears forgot about the Supremacy Clause. Maybe he'll try to pretend that we're still in the Articles of Confederation phase of American history.

Boring, incoherent, irrelevant. The typical GMay happy hour show. It plays during weekend morning cartoon time instead of in a bar between 4 and 6 PM, because, you know, that's how he rolls.

Indeed, the one place where they should be protesting, Washington, D.C., they really aren't. I drove by their park in that city last Sunday, and all I saw were a couple dozen nice looking tents, and not that many people sitting around. Not much energy whatsoever.

According to Instapundit, Byron York found something similar - except that a lot of those nice tents may now be occupied by homeless, apparently with permission. It appears that it is better for appearances to have someone in the tents over night, than no one. And, this is kinda a good deed, on the part of the D.C. Occupiers. So, it is a win-win - the protesters get the appearance of occupying D.C., the homeless get to stay in a nice tent, and the protesters get to go home to their nice warm beds at night.

Certainly not like the Tea Party! Nobody who sports grey hair ... would want to camp out, even overnight. To get a message across to the lug heads in DC.

While in England. At St. Paul's. Where permission was actually granted to allow the "encampment" ... I learned the the European Union means England now has unemployed bums from Germany! And, Denmark. Coming to St. Paul's to hang out and drink beer. They don't need youth hostels. You have to pay at youth hostels.

The other thing worth noticing?

ALL the idiots you see have CREDENTIALS! Bought by taking out loans! And, they had professors who taught garbage ... And, somehow these morons did, in fact, graduating. Owning nothing more than a piece of paper. And, at a minimum $150,000 in student loans.

How did all this crap collect?

Easy. Western nations outlawed the draft.

(Now you know why a country needs a draft! You need the sargeants in the military to kick some sense into the "testosterone" crowd.

At best, they have provided implicit immunity to authoritarian interests, in exchange for prosecuting corruption in the private sector. To excuse or overlook corruption in the public sector, which is funded through involuntary exploitation, and maintains a granted authority over the people, is near-sighted and is not in anyone's best interest.

The OWS movement is both right and wrong. Their concerns are premised on common perceptions, and limited, circumstantial evidence. Their priorities are wrong.